Door lock



Feb. 21, 1956 T. c. DiNGMAN ET AL 2,735,710

DOOR LOCK 2 Sheets-Sheetl l Filed Dec. 1l, 1952 FRONT 0009 FRONT DOORREA/P DOOR FRONT DOOR rao/NGMA/v zj lf/.JAMESON INVENTORS` EZ'. 721%, BYQMLa/W ATTORNEYS Feb. 21, 1956 T. C. DINGMAN ET AL DOOR LOCK F'j ledDeo. ll, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Et l. u A l /3 FRONT DOOR J. W. JAM/ESON INVENTORS .C7277 BY 3,65%

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ATTORNEYS united states Patent o DOOR LOCK Application December 11,1952, Serial No. 325,384 l s claims. (c1. 292-280) Dearborn,

This invention relates generally to latch mechanisms for doors, andparticularly to latch mechanisms of the rotatable bolt type for motorvehicle doors.

' An object of the invention is to provide an improved door latchmechanism of the type having a rotatable bolt and a rotatable ratchetcontrolled by means of a pivotally mounted pawl, the latter beingengaged by an outer manually operable release lever to release Ythe boltfrom the associated keeper.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lock of this type inwhich the outer manually operable release lever isparranged to beactuated by axial movement of an outer manually operable member tounlatch the latch mechanism, and in which a rotatable locking member isadapted to belactuated by rotation of the same outer manually operablemember to lock or unlock the latch mechanism;

A further o bject is to provide a-pivotally mounted control lever havinga portion extending through an elongated slot in the releaseleverandformed with a shoulder which blocks operation of the release lever whenthe control lever is in its locked position. The control lever isarranged to be'operated either by means of the outer manually operablelocking lever or by means of an inner manually operable locking member.p

Still another object of the invention is to provide a lock of this typein which an inner manually operable releaselever 1s arranged to engage apawl to unlatch in which an inner manually operable' locking lever isarranged to block theroperation of saidinner manually operable releaselever when the locking lever is in its locked position, thussimultaneously preventing the door from being opened by the insidedoorfhandle as well'as by the outside door handle under thesej,conditions;

'A Other objects and advantages of this invention will be made moreapparent as this description proceeds, particularly'when considered inpanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is an elevational View, partly in section, looking toward theflange of the door lock adapted to be mounted upon the end wall of thevehicle door.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary elevational view similar to a portion ofFigure l but having certain parts thereof broken'away and in section tomore clearly show other parts thereof.` t

"Figure 3 is a top plan View of the nism. Y

Figure 4 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the plane indicatedby the line 4`4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the plane indicatedby the line 5-5 of Figure l.

. Figure 6 is an elevational view similar to Figure l but showing a lockdesigned for the rear door of a four door vehicle.

Figure 7 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the p'laneindicated by the line 7 7 of Figure 6.

door lock mechaconnection with the accom- Dearborn, t

Figure 8 is a fragmentary end elevational View of the lock shown inFigure 7.

Referring now to the drawings, Figures l to 5 inclusive illustrate adoor lock embodying the present invention and applicable to the rightfront door of a motor vehicle, while Figures 6 to 8 inclusive illustratea door lock for the right rear door of the vehicle.

Referring first to the front door lock shown in Figures l to 5inclusive, the reference character 11 indicates a generally L-shapedmounting plate having an end flange 12 and a side flange 13 extendingsubstantially at right angles to the end flange 12. The end flange 12 isprovided with three screw bosses 14 by means of which the end flange maybe secured to the inner side of the end Wall of the vehicle door. Theside flange 13 extends generally parallel to the inner door panel of thedoor.

The lock is provided with a rotatable toothed latch or rotor 16 havingan integral shank 17 extending through the end flange 12 of the mountingplate and riveted to a rotatable toothed ratchet 18 located on the innerside of the end flange 12. The rotor and ratchet are thus mounted onopposite sides of the flange for rotation together as a unit, and therotor is adapted to be engaged by a conventional keeper (not shown)mounted on the jamb face of the adjacent door pillar. A dovetail 19 ismounted on the outer side of the end flange 12 of the mounting plate toguide the keeper into engagement with the teeth of the rotor.

Referring now to Figures l and 2, a shoulder rivet 21 is mounted uponthe end flange 12 of the mounting plate 11. and forms a` pivotaloperable release lever 22 and a pawl 23.

The pawl 23 is formed With three extending arms 24, 26 and 27. Thedownwardly depending arm 24 is engageable with the teeth of the ratchet18 to hold the ratchet and the rotor 16 locked against rotation in aclockwise direction. l Arm 27 extends generally horizontally andprotrudes through a vertical slot 28 formed in the side flange 13 of themounting plate 11.

engaged by an inner manually be described more in detail hereinafter, topermit the lock to be unlatched by the operationof a handle locatedinside the door. A tongue 29Vstruck out fromvthe end flange 12 of themounting plate 11 is encircled by a rubber grommet 31 to provide aresilient stop for the'inwardly extending arm 27 of the pawl to limitthe counterclockwise rotation of the pawl under the action of returnspring 32.

The return spring 32 is coiled around the shoulder rivet Y21 Vwithftheinner end of the spring being anchored in a slot 33 formed in therivet.V The outer end of the spring 32 engages a plasticV bushing 34encircling a pin 36 mountedupon the downwardly depending arm 24 of thepawl. The pin 36 and its bushing 34 extend through an elongated slot 37formed'in the lower portion of the outer manually operable release lever22. The plastic bushing 34, which may be formed of nylon ,or othersuitable material, provides an insulating medium between the pin 36andthe release lever 22 to prevent metal to metal contact and to insurequiet operation.

The outer manually operable release lever -22 is generally` L-shaped incross section, having a base flange 38extending generally parallel tothe end flange 12 or the mounting plate and a side flange 39 at rightangles thereto to be outermanually operable plunger 41 to rotate therelease lever in a clockwise direction. The pin 36 forms an operativeconnection between the release lever 22 and thepawl 23 and consequentlythe aforesaid operation of the release leveralso swings the pawl in aclockwise directionto move'the downwardly depending arm 24 thereof outof latching engagement with the ratchet 18.

generally radially The plunger 41 is adapted to be slidably mountedwithin a bushing 42- rotatably mounted in a flange 43 formed integrallywith the end wall 12 of the mounting plate and bent at right anglesthereto. The radially outer surface of the bushing 42 is circularpermitting rotation of the bushing within the flange 43. The bushing isprovided with an inwardly projecting portion 44 formed with a squareopening 46 therethrough to slidably but nonrotatably receive the squareshank of the plunger 41. The inwardly projecting portion rotatablysupports a locking lever 47, as best seen in Figure 5.

The plunger 41 projects inwardly from a key controlled lock. cylinder 48and an outer manually operable push button 49. Inward movement of thepush button 49 moves the plunger 41 axially inwardly into engagementwith ange 39 of the release lever 21 to swing the latter in a clockwisedirection. Operation of the key actuated lock cylinder 48 results inrotating the plunger 41 and the bushing 42 which is keyed thereto,resulting in rotating the locking lever 47.

As best seen in Figures 1 and 2, a control lever 51 is pivotally mountedupon the end ange 12 of the mounting plate 11 by means of a pivot pin52. The control lever 51 has three radially extending arms 53, 54 and56. The inwardly extending arm 54 projects through a slot 57 formed inthe side flange 13 of the mounting plate and is provided at its innerextremity with an opening 58 adapted to be connected to a conventionalpush button (not shown), mounted upon the garnish molding of the vehicledoor adjacent the window opening, to swing the control lever 51 betweenits locked and unlocked positions.

As best seen in Figure 2, the outer arm 53 of the control lever 51projects through a vertically elongated slot 59 formed in the sideflange 39 of the release lever 22 and also through a slot 61 formed inthe ange 43 of the mounting plate. The extreme outer end 62 of the arm53 of the control lever is considerably narrower in width than the bodyportion of the arm to form therewith a shoulder 63. In the lockedposition of the control lever 51, as seen in Figure 2, the narrow endportion 62 of the arm 53 of the lever is positioned adjacent the upperend of the slot 59 in the release lever 22, and it will be apparent thatthe shoulder 63 of the control lever blocks clockwise rotation of therelease lever. When the control lever 51 has been swung in acounterclockwise direction, however, the shoulder 63 is aligned with theslot 59 of the release lever so that the latter may be operated by theplunger 41.

The control lever 51 is adapted to be operated in three different ways.First, as described, the inwardly extending arm 54 of the control leveris adapted to be swung upwardly or downwardly by means of a conventionalinside mounted lock button. Second, the outwardly ex, tending arm 53 ofthe control lever is adapted to be swung upwardly or downwardly by meansof the locking lever 47, Figure 5, which is pivotally mounted upon theflange 43 of the mounting plate and rotated by means of the lockcylinder actuated plunger 41. The locking lever 47 is formed withbifurcated tabs 64 straddling the end portion 62 of the arm 53 of thecontrolv lever 51, and it will be apparent that rotation of the lockinglever 47 moves the end portion 62 of the control lever up and downwithin the slot 61 formed in the tlange 43 of the mounting plate.Thirdly, the control lever 51 is adapted to be moved from its locked toits unlocked position by the engagement of the upper arm 26 of the pawl23 with the downwardly depending arm 56 of the control lever. When thedoor is closed with the control lever 51 in its locked position as shownin Figure l, the counterclockwise rotation ofl the` rotor 16. andratchet 18 causes the teeth of the ratchet to bear against the lower arm24 of the pawl, swinging the latter in a clockwise direction. Thismovement causes the upper arm 26 of the pawl tor 44 of the bushingnonrelease lever is provided with a engage the lower arm 56 of thecontrol lever to move the latter from its locked to its unlockedposition so that the door will be automatically unlocked when it isclosed.

Means are also provided for unlatching the lock mechanism from insidethe vehicle. For this purpose, an inner manually operable release lever66 is provided, Figure 4, being pivotally mounted upon the ilange 13 ofthe mounting plate 11 by means of a pivot pin 67. This downwardlydepending arm 68 adapted to be conventionally connected to a suitableinner coor handle (not shown) enabling the lever to be rotated in acounterclockwise direction. The-release lever is also provided with anintegral arm 69 overlying the inwardly extending arm 27 of the pawl 23,and it will be apparent that operation of the inner manually operablerelease lever 66 in a counterclockwise direction is effective to movethe arm 27 of the pawl downwardly in the slot 28 and consequently torelease the pawl from the ratchet.

Reference is now made to Figures 6 to 8 inclusive which discloseapplicants door lock as applied tothe rear door of a four door motorvehicle. Inasrnuch as the rear door lock is generally similar to thefront door lock previously described, only those portions of the reardoor lock which vary therefrom will be described in detail.

As best seen in Figure 6, the control lever 71 of the rear door lock isformed with two arms 72 and 73. The inner arm 73 extends through theslot 57 formed in' theA side ange 13 of the mounting plate 11 toguidethe lever, and the outer arm 72 projects through the slot 59 formedin the ange 39 of the outer manual operable release lever 22. Theextreme outer end portion 74 of the arm 72 of the control lever isnarrower in width than the body portion of the arm and formsl adownwardly extending shoulder 75 adapted, in the locked position of thecontrol lever as shown in Figure 6, to.

extend downwardly below the lower extremity of the slotl 59 in therelease lever 22 so as to block clockwise movement of the release leverunder the actuation of the push button mounted in the door. The pawl 76is theA same as the front door lock pawl 23 but the upper arm isomitted.

Referring now to Figures 7 and 8, a remote control lever 77 is pivotallymounted upon a pivot pin 78. carried by the side flange 13 of themounting plate 11. The remote control lever 77 has an upwardly extendingarm 79 adapted to be conventionally connected to the locking button (notshown) mounted in the garnish molding of the vehicle door adjacent thewindow opening thereof. The remote control lever also has an outwardlyextending bifurcated arm 81 adapted to straddle the arm 73 of thecontrol lever 71, and it will be apparent that rotation of the remotecontrol lever 77 results in moving the control lever 71 between itslocked and unlocked positions.

The rear door lock is provided with an inner manual operable releaselever 82 for operation by an inside door handle to release the pawl fromthe ratchet in the same manner yas iny the front door lock. In addition,the rear door inner manually operable release lever 82 is provided withan upwardly extending arm 83 arranged in alignment with Ia tab 84 bentat rightl angles to the body por,-

tion of the remote control lever 77. WithA the remotek control lever 7.7in its locked position as shown in Figure 7, attempted operation of theinside door handle to move the inner manually operable release lever 82in a counterclockwise direction to unlatch the door is effectivelyprevented by engagement of the upper arm 83 of the release lever withthe flange 84 of the remote control lever 77. Consequently, when therear door is locked, the inner door handle is ineffective to open thedoor. When the remote control lever 77l is rotated in a counterclockwisedirection as seen in Figure 7 from the locked position shown to anunlocked position, the flange 84 is moved out of blocking position withrespect to. the upper arm 83 of the inner manuallyoperable release lever82 so that the inner door handle is effective to unlock the door.

It will be understoodV that the invention is not to be limited to theexact construction shown and described, but that various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a latch mechanism for a motor vehicle door, a mounting platehaving an end flange mounted upon the door adjacent the end wall thereofand a side flange extending substantially at right angles to the endflange adjacent the inner side wall of the door, a toothed rotorrotatably mounted upon the end flange at one side thereof, a toothedratchet on the opposite side of said end flange from said rotor andmounted for rotation with said rotor as a unit, a pawl mounted upon saidend flange on the same side as said ratchet and adapted to engage theteeth of said ratchet to hold said ratchet and rotor against rotation inone direction, an outer manually operable release lever pivotallymounted upon said end flange and having an operative connection withsaid pawl, a control member pivotally mounted upon sai-d end flangehaving ya portion adjacent 4the actuated end of said release leverarranged in one position of another position of said control membertopermit pivotal movement of said release lever, and an outer manuallyoperable member rotatably and slidably mounted upon said mounting plateadjacent the actuated end of said release lever for actuation of saidrelease positions upon rotation of said outer member.

2. The structure defined by claim l which is further -characterized inthat the end flangeof said mounting plate is formed with an integralflange extending generally parallel to said side flange at the oppositeside of said end flange from said side flange, said integral flangebeing provided with yan opening therethrough, a bushing rotatablymounted in said opening and slidably receiving said outer manuallyoperable member, and a locking lever nonrotatably mounted upon saidouter manually operable member and engaging said control member.

3. In a latch mechanism for a motor vehicle door, a case for said latchmechanism having a plate portion mounted upon said door adjacent an endwall thereof and having -a side flange extending generally at rightangles to said plate portion adjacent the outer side of said door, atoothed rotor mounted upon said plate at one side thereof, a toothedratchet on the opposite side of said plate from said rotor and mountedfor rotation with said rotor as a unit, a pawl mounted upon said plateon the same side as said ratchet and adapted to engage said ratchet tohold said ratchet and rotor against rotation in one direction, a releaselever pivotally mounted upon said plate and having an operativeengagement with said pawl to rotate said pawl out of locking engagementwith said ratchet upon rotation of said release lever in one direction,a control lever pivotally mounted upon said plate and having a portionarranged in blocking relationship with a portion of said release leverto prevent rotation of said release lever in the direction required tomove said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet, an outer manuallyoperable member extending through said flange for both slidable androtatable movement with respect thereto, the inner end of said memberengaging said release lever to actuate the latter upon axial movement ofsaid member, and means mounted upon said member and engageable with saidcontrol lever to move the latter between blocking and nonblockingpositions relative to said release lever upon rotation of said outermanually operable member.

4. The structure defined by claim 3 which is further manually operablecharacterized in that said control lever has an arm extending through anelongated slot in said release lever and projecting outwardlytherebeyond, the blocking portion of said control lever comprising ashoulder formed on said arm arranged to block pivotal movement of saidrelease lever when the control lever is in its locked position and topass lthrough the slot in said release lever when said control lever isin its unlocked position, and the means carried by said outer manuallyoperable member comprises a lever mounted for rotation -with said outermanually operable member and engageable with the portion of the arm ofsaid control lever projecting `through the slot in said release lever.

5. The structure defined by claim 3 which is further characterized inthat said outer manually operable mem-l ber includes a plunger ofnoncircular cross section, a bushing rotatably mounted in the sideflange of said lock case and having an opening therein corresponding inshape to the shape of the noncircular portion of the outer manuallyoperable member to permit axial sliding movement of said member relativeto said bushing but to effect rotation of said bushing upon rotation ofsaid member, the means carried 'by said outer manually operable memberand engageable with said control lever comprising a locking levernon-rotatably mounted upon said bushing and having a bifurcated endportion straddling a portion of said control lever.

6. In a latch mechanism for a motor vehicle door, a lock case having anend flange positioned adjacent the end Wall of the door and mountedthereon and an integral side flange positioned adjacent the inner sideof said door, a toothed ratchet and a toothed rotor mounted upon the endflange of said case for rotation as a unit, a pawl pivotally mountedupon said end flange and engageable with said ratchet to preventrotation thereof in one direction, a release lever pivotally mountedupon said end flange and having operative engagement with said pawl, acontrol lever pivotally mounted upon said end flange and having blockingengagement with a portion of said outer manually operable release leverin one position of said control lever,

an inner manually operable release lever pivotally mounted upon the sideflange of said lock case and having a portion engageable with said pawl,and an inner remotely controlled lever pivotally mounted upon the sideflange of said lock case and having a portion engageable with saidcontrol lever to move the latter between its locked and unlockedpositions, said remotely controlled lever having a projection formedthereon adapted in the locked position of said remotely controlled leverto block pivotal movement of said inner manually operable release leverand in the unlocked position of said remotely controlled lever beingclear of said inner manually operable member.

7. In a latch mechanism for a motor vehicle door, a mounting platehaving an end flange mounted upon they door adjacent the end Wallthereof and a side flange extending substantially at right angles to theend flange adjacent the inner side wall of the door, a toothed rotorrotatably mounted upon the end flange at one side thereof, a toothedratchet on the opposite side of said end flange from said rotor andmounted for rotation with said rotor as a unit, a pawl mounted upon saidend flange on the same side as said ratchet and adapted to engage theteeth of said ratchet to hold said ratchet and rotor against rotation inone direction, an outer manually operable release lever pivotallymounted upon said end flange and having an operative connection withsaid pawl, a pivoted `control lever rotatably mounted upon the endflange of said mounting plate and having an arm extending through avertically elongated slot in said release lever, said arm having ashoulder formed thereon engageable with said release lever in the lockedposition of said control lever to block pivotal movement of the releaselever and arranged to pass through the elongated slot in said releaselever in the unlocked position of said control lever to permit pivotalmovement of said release lever to release` the pawl from the ratchet,anrouter manually operable member rotatably and slidably mounted uponsaid mounting plate adjacent said release lever for actuation of saidrelease lever upon sliding movement of said last mentioned member, andmeansl connecting said last mentioned member and said control lever tomove the latter between locked and unlocked positions upon rotation ofsaid outer manually operable member.

8. In a latch mechanism for a motor vehicle door, a mounting platehaving an end flange mounted upon the door adjacent the end wall thereofand a side ange extending substantially at right angles to the endilange adjacent the inner side wall of the door, a toothed rotorrotatably mounted upon the end flange at one side thereof, a` toothedratchet on the opposite side of said end ilange from said rotor andmounted for rotation with said rotor as a unit, a pawl mounted upon saidend flange on the same side as said ratchet and adapted to engage theteeth of said ratchet to hold said ratchet and rotor against rotation inone direction, an outer manually operable release lever pivotallymounted upon said end ange and having an operative connection with saidpawl, a movable control lever pivotally mounted upon the end wall ofsaid mounting plate above the pivotal mountings of said release leverand pawl to said flange, and said control lever having three radiallyextending arms, one of said arms extending through a slot formed in theside ilange of said mounting plate for operation from the interior ofthe vehicle, the second of saidv arms extending downwardly into the pathof a portion of said pawl for engagement thereby, and the third of saidarms extending through a slot in said release lever and formed with ashoulder adapted to block pivotal movement of said release lever whenthe control lever is in its locked position and to pass through the slotin said release lever when the control lever is in its unlockedposition, an outer manually operable member rotatably and slidablymounted upon said mounting plate adjacent the actuated end of saidrelease lever for actuation of said release lever upon sliding movementof said last mentioned member, and means connecting said last mentionedmember and said control lever to move the latter between locked andunlocked positions upon rotation of said outer manually operable member.

eferenees Cited in the file of this patent UNTTED STATES PATENTS

